Work support



J. H. POPE WORK SUPPORT.

Filed Nov 24", 1919 /A vE/v mm f zz ttl bl n srna rnr'r time ,rosnrn H.POPE, on nAr/rrmon, rnsseonusnrrs, Assrenon rro onrrnn snon MA- cHrnEnYconrone'rron, or rernnson, new JERSEY, .e ooaronn'rron or new WORKSUPPORT.

Application filed November 24, 1919. Serial No. 3%,116.

To all whom it irm-y concern:

Be it known that l, Josnrrr H. Porn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hamilton, in the county of Essex and satate ofMassachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in \Vork Supports, ofwhich the following description, in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawingsindicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention 'relates'to work supports for shoe machinery and, moreparticularly, to a work support for facilitating the proper location ofa shoe with respect to the operating instrumentalities of the machineand maintaii'iing the shoe its proper position while being operatedupon.

For example, in heeling machines, as well as in other shoe machinery. itis customary to provide a shoe support in the form of a jack which isarranged to slide from a work receiving position in front of the machineinto a position in operative relation to the tools which are to operateupon the work. Usually, such a jack slides freely in and out and thefriction of the jack base in its guideway is depended upon to retain thejack in position when pressure. is exerted upon the work. It is oftenfound, however, especially when the faces of the work are not parallel,that the application of pressure has a considerable tendency to displacethe work support or as it is termed in shop language, to causeit to kickout.

One object of the present invention is to produce a shoe support bywhich this undesirable tendency is overcome. In pursuance of thisobject, one principal feature of the invention. resides in thecombination with a shoe support which is normally freely movable in asubstantially horizontal guideway, of means acting upon the surface ofthe guideway to lock the shoe support against movement at apredetermined period in the operationof the machine. The constructionand arrangement are preferably such that the locking means is containedwithin the slidable shoe support or ack' and is controlled in itslocking function by the presence or absence of pressure upon the work;thus when the jack is moved into the rangeof the pressure applyingmechanism,

it may be automaticallylocked against displacement by the application ofthe pressure to the work, without the exertion of any effort on the partof the operative.

An advantageous feature of such an or ganization as that above outlinedis that, since the locking mechanism is self-contained within the jackand mayoperate upon the surface of the guideway without any modificationof the latter, the invention may readily be utilized in connection withexisting machines already in use in shoe factories, it being onlynecessary to substitute for the older type of jack an improved jackconstructed according to the invention.

One form of the invention which has proved satisfactory in practical usecomprises-a plunger slidably mounted in the jack post and arranged tooperate through a toggle to project oppositely movablelock- 111g membersfrom the jack base into engagement with the guideway in which the jackmoves.

Another difficulty which has been encountered with more or lessfrequency in heeling or otherwise operating upon shoes mounted uponwooden lasts arises from the fact that, after such a last has been usedfor some time, its top or crown is frequently more or less broken downupon one side or the other and consequently does not afford a firmsupport for the work when placed upon the ordinary fiat jack top. Withthe object in view of overcoming this difficulty, another feature ofthe. present inventionconsists in a jack or work support having mounted.

upon it reversible last. engaging member having a last engaging faceinclined transversely of the last. By reversing'the last engagingmember,the said face may be inclined in one direction or the other .as may berequired to afford suitable support for lasts having. their tops brokendown on either side. The last engaging member may also be mounted insuch a way as to permit a limited amount of free lateral movement withrespect to the jack post, thus making it easy to adjust the shoe towthe'exact position desiredwithrespect to the instrumentalities whichare .to operate upon it.

Other features of improvement and advantages of the invention yvillbecome apparent upon reading the following detailed description of oneembodiment thereof in connection with the accompanying drawings,in.which- Figure 1 1s a view in side elevation of a portion of awell-knowntype of heeling machine having a work support embodying theinvention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the work support with portions shown insection on the line 22 of Fig. 1, to disclose the construction of thelocking mechanism;

Fig. 3 a detail view of the jack top with a wooden last upon it; and

Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the last engaging member separated fromthe jack a heavy, positive pressure is applied by any suitable meanssuch, for example, as a cam 14, prior'to the driving of the heelat-taching nails by reciprocating the nail drlvers I 16. Theusualbracket 18, which is raised and lowered by the pressure mechanism,is

provided with a guideway comprising undercut surfaces'20 in which a jackbaseof "dovetail formation is fitted to slide'easily.

The general shape of the'jack base is shown at 22, and extendingupwardly from it is a sleeve 24 in which is loosely mounted a jack post26. The ack post 26 is threaded and a large manually operated nut 28serves to effect vertical adjustment to vary the height of the jack. Ajack top 30 is p votally'mounted at the top of the post 26 for thepurpose and in the manner described in detail in Patent No. 1,313,909. r

A plunger 32 has a vertical sliding bearing in the sleeve 24 andissupported by a spring 34 bearing upon the lower face of a nut 36adjustably threaded upon the upper end of the plunger. The upwardmovement of the plunger is limited by an enlargement 38 at its lower endwh ch engages a. corresponding shoulder formed within the sleeve 24. Thearrangement and normal adjustment of the plunger and nut 36 are 1 suchthat 'the nut 36 projects slightly above 55 the top of the sleeve 24 andthe jack post adjusting nut 28 rests upon the nut 36. A togglecomprising links 40, pivoted together at 42. is arranged to be operatedby a' secondary plunger 44, provided with a stem 46, which telescopesinto a recess 48 in the lower end of the plunger'32. A pin and slotconnection 50, between the stem 46 and the plunger 32, serves to limitthe relative movement between the two, and a compression spring 52interposed between the members 38 and 44 permits a certain'amount ofyield ing when the member 44 is pressed downwardly, by depressing theplunger 32.

Oppositely disposed locking members 54 are arranged to slidehorizontally in suitable guides formed in the base 22 andarerespectively pivotally connected to thefllnks' 40 of the toggle, bywhich they areprojected and retracted. The ends of the members 54 areinclined, to correspond to the surfaces 20, and the arrangement is suchthat when the said members 54 are projected outwardly they will engagesecurely with the surfaces of the jack guideway and lock the jack firmlyagainst sliding movement theremally projects the upper end of theplunger 32, or the nut 36, slightly above the top of the jack member 24and supports the jack post 26 and associated parts with the hand Aspreviously stated, the spring 34 nornut 28 slightly above the top of themember 24. The shoe is jacked with the work support drawn forward andoccupying the position illustrated in Fig. 1, after which the worksupport, with the work upon it, is pushed into operative position withthe heel seat of the shoe beneath the heel 56, which is held in asuitable holder 58 upon the under side of the nailing die 10. The worksupport is then raised to apply pressure to the work. In this upwardmovement of'the work support the shoe first engages the heel and thenthe reaction causes relative approaching movement of the nut 28 and theupper end of the sleeve 24, the spring 34 yielding and permitting theplunger 32 to be depressed by the nut28. The depression of the plunger32 is yieldingly transmitted through the spring 52 to the second aryplunger 44 which, in turn, tends to straighten the toggle 40 and projectthe locking members 54 into locking engagement with the work supportguideway. The work support is thus securely held against displacement aslong as the work is under pressure but isinstantly released as soon asthe pressure is removed. It will beapparent that theoperation of thelocking mechanism is entirely automatic, being controlled by thepresence or absence 0 pressure upon the work and requiring no attentionwhatever on the part of the operative.

The upper face of the jack top 30 is provided with a transverse undercutslot 60, being in this respect substantially the same as thecorresponding member in the jack shown a 62 is provided upon its underside with a circular dovetail 64 eta diameter to -lit in theundercutslot 60. "Springpressed plugs 66 having rounded upper ends are somounted in the member 30. that their ends nor mally pro ect abovethetop'surface thereof forced transversely into or out of position butthe plugs acting as detents to retain the last engaging memberandprevent it from becoming accidentally separated from the ja'cl'rt'op.The purpose of elongating the rece'ss 68 is to permit alimited amount offree transverse movement of the last engaging member, thus inaking'iteasy to adjust the shoe to the exact position desired.

The upper face 70 of the" 1 st engaging member 62 istransverselyinclined, as shown in Figs 2 and 3, and, as illustrated,isiprovided witha projeeting last pin 72 and side wings 74.. i A last'26 isshownin Fig. 3. which has its top or crown broken down or wornaway more upon one side than the other; the inclination of the face 70of tl'ie last engaging member compensates for the transverse inclinationofthe general top surface of the last which is,therefore, solidly supported with its bottom face 78 substantially horizontal, which isnecessary for the proper engagement of the parts of the work when theyare brought together. If the inclination of the top face of the last,due to unequal wear, or breaking down. should be in the oppositedirection, the last engaging member 62 may be instantly reversed and theinclination of the face 70 presented in the opposite direction byrotating the member about the vertical axis of the circular dovetail64:. It will thus be seen that provision is made for taking careinstantly of worn lasts, irrespective of which side is worn away. Theimproved last bed piece may,

furthermore, be removed by a single motion of the hand and the regularflat bed piece inserted for use in connection with lasts which are notbroken down nor unevenly worn.

Having thus described my invention.what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In a machine of theclass described, the combination of a shoe support, a guide in whichsaid shoe support is normally freely movable substantiallyhorizontallyin a right line, and means acting upon the guiding surfaceto lock the support againstmove- 5. A work support, applicable shoemachines having an undercut worksupcombination of; mechanism forapplying pressure to the work, a werk support normally freely movableinto and out of the range of the pressureapplying mechanism, and meanscontrolled by the presence or absence of pressure upon the work forlocking the work support against movement.

In a machine of the class described, the combination of mechanism forapplying pressure to the work, a ack, means for gu ding the ack formovement into and out oftherange ofthe pressure applying mechanism, andmeans contained withm the ]&Cl

{merit at a predetermined period in the operat-ion of the machine. Y: rI

2. In a machine of the class describechthe for locking it againstmovement when the pressure is applied.

4i. A work support, applicable to shoe machines having a rectilinearguideway, comprising abase having rectilinear surfaces to co-operatewlth such a guideway, and means operable by pressure uponthe Worksupport forlockingthe base thereof to'said guideway. 7 r

to ex sting port guideway, comprising a base having surfaces arrangedfor'sliding engagement withsuch a, guideway and means contained withinsaid base for engaging asurface of the guideway andlocking the worksupport against movement when pressure is applied to the work.

6. A ack, "applicable to shoe machines having a jack guideway,comprising a base constructed and arranged to be guided for movement insuch a guideway, a plunger slidably mounted in the base, and toggleoperated means operatively connected to the plunger for locking the jackto the guideway.

7. Locking mechanism for the jack of a shoe machine comprising aguideway, a jack having a base constructed and arranged to slide in saidguidew-ay, a locking member in the jack base movable into lockingengagement with the guideway, atoggle connected to said locking member,and means for straightening the toggle to operate the locking member. 7

8. Locking mechanism for the jack of a shoe machine comprising aguideway, a ack.

having a base constructed and arranged to slide 1n sald guideway,oppositely directed locking members in the jack base movable outwardlyinto locking engagement with the guideway, a tog le connecting saidlocking Pr: members, and means for straightening the toggle to pro]ectsaid locking members.

9. In a demos of the class described, the

combination of a jack post, a jack base in;

which said post is loosely mounted, a toggle in the base, connectionsbetween the post and the toggle for straightening the toggle when thepost is depressed, and locking memvice for engaging the top. or crown ofa last, said member having a last engaging face inclined transversely ofthe last and be ing reversible to reverse the inclination, of

saidiace relatively to the last. I 12. In a work support, thecombinatlon of a jacl; post, a last engaging member loosely mountedthereon for a limited amount of lateral movementrelative thereto, saidmember being capable also of reversal relative to the jack post andmeans for temporarily .maintaining one or the other of the reversedpositions while permitting the lateral movement.

13. In a work support, the combination of a jackpost, a last engagingmember loosely mounted thereon and detentmeans co-operating withsaidmember normally to permit a limited amount of lateral movementthereof relative to the jack post, said detent means being retractableto permit a complete reversal of said member relative to the jack post.

14. In a Work-support, the combination of a substantially vertical jackpost, a last engaging member having a transversely in clined lastengaging face loosely mounted thereon, and detent means normallyretaining said member upon the post, said detent means being retractableto permit reversal of the last engaging member in a substantiallyhorizontal plane to reverse the inclination of said face.

15. In a work support, the combination last engaging face in reversedpositions.

16. In a machine of the class described, a shoe support, a guideuponwhich the support may move, a member movable with the support forlocking said support against movement upon the guide, a lever connectedto the locking member, and means for moving the lever to operatesaidlockingmember.

17.,In a machine of the class described, a shoe support, a guide uponwhich the support may move, a member for locking the support againstmovement upon the guide, a lever connectedto the locking member, andmeans controlled in movement of the work for moving the lever to operatesaid locking member. I y

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JOSEPH H. POPE;

